After three weeks on paid suspension, Emporia’s deputy police chief no longer works for the city.
“I can confirm for you he is no longer employed by the city of Emporia as of this morning,” Emporia City Manager Matt Zimmerman said this morning of Mike Williams, deputy police chief since October 2001.
Zimmerman declined to discuss details.
“It’s city policy not to discuss the details of specific personnel issues,” he said.
But, Zimmerman did confirm that Williams “had been on a paid suspension, I believe for three weeks.”
For more on this developing story, see tonight's print edition of The Emporia Gazette.
justthinkin (anonymous) says...
YEAH - He shouldn't have ever been hired in the first place.
March 25, 2009 at 1:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TeamKansas (anonymous) says...
This is truely a sad day for Emporia. This new "Police Chief" obviously wants his own staff since we have lost 2 of the finest public servants any town could ask for!! Apparently, there are deeper issues here than just Mr. Williams.
March 25, 2009 at 2:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Yesterday_Today_Tomorrow (anonymous) says...
Personally I know Mike Williams, I believe there are two sides to every story. I think Matt Zimmerman ethics should be examined, and the new Police Chief needs to re-examine his decision. Not to mention small town politics are extreme in this community. Calling people worthless is unfair, you can't judge someone are hear say.
March 25, 2009 at 2:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nascar (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
March 25, 2009 at 2:13 p.m. ( permalink )
navywife (anonymous) says...
Williams was my boss for 3 years when I worked for the PD. I never had any problems w/ him and he treated me very fair and with respect. There might have been problems that I'm sure I don't know about, but I feel like I should stick up for a man that did the same for me.
March 25, 2009 at 3:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
railroadhorn (anonymous) says...
What's behind the dismissal? Did he break the law or is this just office politics?
March 25, 2009 at 3:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hawks422 (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
March 25, 2009 at 1:59 p.m. ( permalink )
hawks422 (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
March 25, 2009 at 2:29 p.m. ( permalink )
howdo (anonymous) says...
Seems to me that the people that actually know Mr. Williams have nothing but good things to say about him. The people with negative comments probably don't know what they are talking about, and should not base their opinion on the b.s. that someone else feeds to them.
March 25, 2009 at 4:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
no-one will know about what has happened until and unless a law -suit is filed.
March 25, 2009 at 4:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
howdo (anonymous) says...
maybe that would get some people's attention
March 25, 2009 at 4:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
howdo (anonymous) says...
I wonder how he "forced" them out if they were the only one's that would "stand up to him"?
March 25, 2009 at 5 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hottopics (anonymous) says...
I met Mr. Williams on a issue about 2 yrs ago. He was very straight forward, said it how it was but was respectful at the same time. Sometimes when new staff come on board, personalities just do not see eye to eye. Sounded like a face off situation and of course, the higher position won out.
March 25, 2009 at 5:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wildcatjack (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
March 25, 2009 at 4:52 p.m. ( permalink )
toninj (anonymous) says...
I too have had interactions with Mr. Williams and always found him to be a pleasant individual. However, I think many of you on here may want to wait for the facts before passing judgment on the City, the Chief, and Mr. Zimmerman. If Mr. Williams was on leave for 3 weeks I feel sure that there are reasons behind the dismissal.
rbow: I do not think there will be a lawsuit; that is why the city employs an attorney, I am sure they were completely within their rights to dismiss.
Speculation had been brought up back when Mr. Williams was hired as to the validity of his credentials. From what I am hearing it has been shown that he was not truthful on his resume and did not have the background needed to be in the position he was in. That alone would justify a dismissal, but add in there that he is suppose to hold others accountable for not following the law and possibly broke the law himself?? All I am saying is nice man or not, I think the city may have done the only thing they could. We should all wait for the rest of the facts.
It surprises me that the Gazette is just now picking up this story when it has been making its rounds in the community for the last few weeks.
March 25, 2009 at 5:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wildcatjack (anonymous) says...
What is the gazette trying to hide by removing peoples comments. If it writes something that may or may not be the complete truth it is covered by the 1st amendment and you are free of any ill wrong. If you don't like the truth being posted you just remove it BOO on you.
March 25, 2009 at 5:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
glarson (anonymous) says...
From the User Poster Agreement Policy:
"But if you use inappropriate language (even when typographically obfuscated), or make potentially slanderous or libelous comments when using this site and its features, or engage in ad hominem attacks on fellow commenters, people mentioned in stories, contributors or any employee of The Emporia Gazette, we reserve the right (but assume no obligation) to remove any and/or all of your contributions."
If you happened to see the comments before they came down, you'll understand that the language and name-calling were the issue. Civil discourse is welcome.
Gwen Larson
Managing Editor
March 25, 2009 at 5:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
howdo (anonymous) says...
After all, children do need babysitters.
March 25, 2009 at 5:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oohay (anonymous) says...
You don't get fired for no reason...think about it...if only the public knew what goes on behind closed doors...
March 25, 2009 at 5:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hickory (anonymous) says...
And Gwen........how about the link that "absolute" left on the italian restaurant story..........that's slanderous if it's not the truth. Don't you think that you should have checked that out before you posted it?
March 25, 2009 at 6 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
spectator (anonymous) says...
"if only the public knew what goes on behind closed doors... " oohay, you are SO right. I have never been a big Zimmerman fan but as you put it "You don't get fired for no reason"
March 25, 2009 at 6:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oohay (anonymous) says...
Does this mean Mr. Williams won't be eating lunch everyday at Bruff's with the county attorney and his staff for two hours?
March 25, 2009 at 6:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
glarson (anonymous) says...
Hickory,
I did not post the link to the Italian Gardens story, Absolute did. But I did remove it.
Gwen Larson
March 25, 2009 at 8:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bigdog (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
March 25, 2009 at 9:10 p.m. ( permalink )
wouldntuliketoknow (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
March 25, 2009 at 9:20 p.m. ( permalink )
esufan24 (anonymous) says...
I feel that Zimmerman failed to realize that Mike Williams is one of the best employees on the City of Emporia payroll. While I was employed with the City of Emporia, Mr. Williams talked to me like a human, knew my name, said "hi" when he saw me in the the hallways. I remember Zimmerman saw me one time and just looked the other way. This is our city manager. This is the man that runs our city.
March 25, 2009 at 10:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bigdog (anonymous) says...
things that make you say,hum...........
March 25, 2009 at 10:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
fastreader (anonymous) says...
bigdog: I am sorry your comment was removed. It seems that unless you have something negative to say about Mr. Zimmerman or the city, the comments are unacceptable for this blog. I thought your comment was well written, you did not name the other officer or the business, so I am not real sure where you went wrong. Nor did I notice any inappropriate language usage.
I also think your comment was very factual. Maybe the Gazette could use you as a reporter and we would get the facts!
Wouldyouliketoknow: hopefully that business you named gets more calls. I won't name that business or this may be removed!!
March 25, 2009 at 10:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wouldntuliketoknow (anonymous) says...
Yep, It's gone. That wrecker business. The honest business. The have an 07 wrecker. This towing service never got a fair rotation because the wrecker service with the big American flag on the side & Mr. Williams, the ex-cop, were way to tight.
God, do I still live in America??
March 26, 2009 at 6:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ma (anonymous) says...
I am thankful that I got a look at many of the comments that were posted yesterday before their removal. I find many of them were spoken from truth and from behind the scenes. I have met Mr. Williams many times and did not care for him at all. I found him very toxic to the employees who work in the Police Department. I am glad that he was removed from his position and hopefully the PD can start to rebuild their morale once again!
March 26, 2009 at 7:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
fastreader (anonymous) says...
People lets really look at this from an objective point of view. If your terminated from employment usually, not always there are good and valid reasons. I remember reading a blog from earlier that said something regarding his credentials. If the man doesn't have the credentials for the job I don't want him in that position either. He was on paid leave for three weeks prior we can assume the city did some research and investigation. If he was such a great man then I suggest you wait for the facts. I agree with Ma and her description of him it is very true. May be our County Attorney will get a clue and figure out that his close relationship with Williams will not be in his best interest for a continued political career in Lyon County.
March 26, 2009 at 8:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthinkin (anonymous) says...
ma is very correct. Williams was toxic to the dept and I can't imagine any employee that thought he wasn't, unless it was the person that hired him & didn't want to admit his mis-judgement of character.
March 26, 2009 at 9:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
EmporiaLawDog (anonymous) says...
Fastreader, please reread your previous post because I don't believe you know what the definition of "objective" is. You use the word "assume". Is making assumptions looking at something objectively? Take your own advice and wait for the facts. You are passing judgement as you also agree with Ma's description which leads me to believe you have formed your own opinion and have no intention to look at this situation objectively. I too, have read some of the posts that were deleted, one of which was yours. You were trying to include a business and another officer, none of which were mentioned in the article. Furthermore, your current post attacks the County Attorney, why? The County Attorney is the head law enforcer in the county, not the Sheriff or the Chief of Police. It is not uncommon for the County Attorney to have relationships with law enforcement officers. Again, your objectivity is skewed and you need to reevaluate your comment and practice what you preach. The bottom line is the article was very brief and didn't contain a plethora of facts for the readers to draw any conclusions other than the fact that as of yesterday he no longer works for the city.
Take the article for what its worth, not much. Hopefully, in the near future more facts will be reported and when the whole story is told, then you can pass judgement with an objective mind.
March 26, 2009 at 9:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bigdog (anonymous) says...
Law Dog you are right,the report had no information. I am pretty sure that is no accident. This situation has taken years to manifest itself. Hundreds of thousands of CASH dollars in forfeiture cases might,I said might, be part of the problem. Greed usually prevails. Again what scared the Gazette about the mention of a grand jury.
March 26, 2009 at 10:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bigdog (anonymous) says...
The more dogs involved the bigger the flea infestation.
March 26, 2009 at 10:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
homewrecker (anonymous) says...
I agree with the wrecker story. Very credible facts about Williams and Williams.
March 26, 2009 at 12:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthinkin (anonymous) says...
The Gazette must hope this blog line will die out since they even removed the article from the "Older stories" link. I had to do a search to get the article again and follow the conversations. But then, Peggy Mast receiving recognition is much more important, after all.
March 26, 2009 at 12:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
glarson (anonymous) says...
We at The Gazette cannot move stories around and into the Older Stories category. That's a function of how many stories get loaded to the site. The Headlines link will only show a certain number of stories. After that, you have to click on Older Stories and search by date.
I've found the easiest way to follow comment threads is to go to the Home page. About 2/3 down the lefthand side is a link called Forums. Click on it.
The next page will give you three options. Under Reader forums is News forum and Sports. The one you want to use is under "Comments throughout the site."
If you click on Stories here, it will take you to the threads. Stories move around here based on the most recent comments. At this moment, No. 1 is Vote 'Yes' April 7. No. 2 is Williams out. Once my comment is posted, Williams out will move to the top.
Gwen Larson
March 26, 2009 at 12:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
homewrecker (anonymous) says...
Well done on your coverage on the Williams story. You score an A+ on that one in my opinion
March 26, 2009 at 2:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
glarson (anonymous) says...
This is moving to a forum:
http://www.emporiagazette.com/forums/...
And please remember to discuss the issue at hand — the fact that Deputy Chief Williams no longer has that job. There is more than enough rumor and innuendo swirling around town.
Yes, The Gazette has heard it and is working to corrorborate the accusations. But until there is something more concrete than "I heard that so-and-so..." it will not appear in The Gazette — nor in the comments.
Participating in these forums is a privilege, not a right. Please don't abuse the privilege.
Gwen Larson
Managing Editor
March 27, 2009 at 6:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )